Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages High openings flow SOC 35-2021

Food Preparation Workers

About 148,000 projected annual openings shape how to read Food Preparation Workers against Chefs and Head Cooks, Dishwashers, Waiters and Waitresses, Cooks, All Other.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Food Preparation Workers: Chefs and Head Cooks ($62K) , Dishwashers ($35K) , Waiters and Waitresses ($35K) , Cooks, All Other ($38K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Food Preparation Workers publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 35-2021 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Clean and sanitize work areas, equipment, utensils, dishes, or silverware
  2. 2. Assist cooks and kitchen staff with various tasks as needed, and provide cooks with needed items
  3. 3. Distribute food to waiters and waitresses to serve to customers
  4. 4. Take and record temperature of food and food storage areas, such as refrigerators and freezers
  5. 5. Carry food supplies, equipment, and utensils to and from storage and work areas
  6. 6. Remove trash and clean kitchen garbage containers
  7. 7. Store food in designated containers and storage areas to prevent spoilage
  8. 8. Weigh or measure ingredients
  9. 9. Operate cash register, handle money, and give correct change
  10. 10. Vacuum dining area and sweep and mop kitchen floor
  11. 11. Inform supervisors when equipment is not working properly and when food and supplies are getting low, and order needed items
  12. 12. Wash, peel, and cut various foods, such as fruits and vegetables, to prepare for cooking or serving

Food Preparation Workers: O*NET ranks Active Listening first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 35-2021 - lead skill Active Listening at 3.0 ; lead knowledge Customer and Personal Service. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Active Listening 3.0
  2. 2. Service Orientation 3.0
  3. 3. Time Management 3.0
  4. 4. Speaking 2.9
  5. 5. Coordination 2.9
  6. 6. Critical Thinking 2.8
  7. 7. Reading Comprehension 2.6
  8. 8. Social Perceptiveness 2.6

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Customer and Personal Service 3.3
  2. 2. Food Production 2.9
  3. 3. Production and Processing 2.7
  4. 4. English Language 2.4
  5. 5. Administration and Management 2.3
  6. 6. Psychology 1.8
Projected annual openings
148,000
growth + transfers + exits
National median $35,320/yr
$35K
National median
↓ -3%
Growth 2024-2034
893,600
Estimated US jobs
Chefs and Head Cooks
Highest-pay peer · $62K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education No formal educational credential

Top Paying States for Food Preparation Workers

1. California $39,350
2. Oregon $37,450
3. Massachusetts $38,900
4. Colorado $38,960
5. Arizona $36,750
6. New Hampshire $36,780
7. Washington $40,910
8. Hawaii $38,160
9. North Dakota $36,800
10. District of Columbia $39,600

Other Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations titles

  1. 1. Waiters and Waitresses $35,230
  2. 2. Chefs and Head Cooks $62,470
  3. 3. Cooks, All Other $37,690
  4. 4. Dishwashers $34,810
  5. 5. First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers $44,080
  6. 6. Cooks, Short Order $35,880

Roughly 148,000 projected annual openings (growth, transfers, exits) are the scale signal for Food Preparation Workers. Median pay is $35,320 in Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations.

Employment Projections expect -3% change between 2024 and 2034 (declining vs baseline 3.1%). BLS assigns No formal educational credential as typical education needed for entry. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.

Highest published state median in this ranking: California at $39,350. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Chefs and Head Cooks at $62,470. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Food Preparation Workers pay-rank #10 in Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations

Food Preparation Workers sits at pay-rank #10 of 17 detailed Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations, the middle third of the major-group median table. ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.

Other mid-table titles · closest medians

Full Salary Details Compare this role

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024-2034.

SOC 35-2021 · national median $35,320 · middle third of Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations (#10/17). Open the full OEWS map or a named state before treating the card median as a local ask.

Food Preparation Workers salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 35-2021

California · top state for Food Preparation Workers

$39K published median

Oregon · #2 state pay

$37K · behind California

Chefs and Head Cooks

Highest-pay peer vs Food Preparation Workers · $62K

Dishwashers

Lower-pay peer beside Food Preparation Workers · $35K

Compare Food Preparation Workers

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
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Openings and labor-flow next reads

Most Openings Rankings

Labor-flow scale across occupations

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is Food Preparation Workers mid-table among Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations? ▼
Yes: pay-rank #10 of 17 detailed Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations, the middle third. Mid-table neighbors: Food Servers, Nonrestaurant ($35K), Waiters and Waitresses ($35K), Dishwashers ($35K), Food Preparation and Serving Related Workers, All Other ($36K). ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.
What do food preparation workers do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Food Preparation Workers. Leading ones include: Clean and sanitize work areas, equipment, utensils, dishes, or silverware; Assist cooks and kitchen staff with various tasks as needed, and provide cooks with needed items; Distribute food to waiters and waitresses to serve to customers; Take and record temperature of food and food storage areas, such as refrigerators and freezers. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for food preparation workers? ▼
For SOC 35-2021, O*NET importance scores lead with Active Listening (3.0), Service Orientation (3.0), Time Management (3.0), Speaking (2.9). Knowledge areas emphasize Customer and Personal Service, Food Production, Production and Processing. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
What is the OEWS national median for Food Preparation Workers? ▼
May 2025 OEWS reports $35,320 as the national median for Food Preparation Workers. The published 10th-90th range is $25,810 to $45,340. Beside Chefs and Head Cooks ($62,470), this is the occupation-level national figure, not a local offer.
What employment change does BLS publish for Food Preparation Workers? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Food Preparation Workers is -3%. Projected annual openings: about 148,000. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: declining.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Food Preparation Workers? ▼
California ($39,350), Oregon ($37,450), Massachusetts ($38,900) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024-2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

Federal sources on this Food Preparation Workers card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 35-2021. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Food Preparation Workers. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics